Inflation causes rents to rocket

Rent in Belgium has risen by 4 percent as compared to the same time in 2007.

23 May 2008

BELGIUM – Inflation has caused rents in Belgium to rise by 4 percent as compared to the same time in 2007.

The great majority of tenancy agreements are linked to the so-called health index which compiles consumer goods with the exception of “unhealthy” items such as tobacco, alcohol and most oil products.

In the past months, the health index was exceeded on a number of occasions, causing the wages of civil servants and pensions to increase. Sadly for those who do not own their own house, it has led to an increase of rents as well.

According to Geert Inslegers of the Tenants Union, the increase is particularly striking in those cases where the letter has failed to carry out earlier adjustments.

“Tenants in that situation may now face a hefty rent increase,” Inslegers says.

On top of that, as the Tenants Union points out, some letters are cashing in twice by adjusting rents in between tenants.